10 of the MSBA Student Bloggers were given a pass to SXSW Interactive to explore what the festival had to offer from an analytics perspective (and to have some fun in the process!). From video game expos and virtual reality stations to Victoria’s Secret models and 3D Printers, there was plenty to see! Below, Monisha & Max, two of our student bloggers, recapped some of their favorite parts of this exciting Austin event:
Monisha’s Multisensory SXSW Experience
Last week was spring break and as an MSBA-er who doesn’t know how to take it easy, I spent most of it in downtown Austin immersing myself in the multisensory temptations of SXSW, a set of film, interactive and music festivals that take place in Austin every year drawing crowds from all over the world! SXSW Interactive focuses on emerging technologies and novel ideas that are radically transforming the way we perceive and interact with technology. From listening to Edward Snowden video conference his thoughts on protecting privacy and mitigating the intrusion of mass surveillance, to watching Karlie Kloss, of Victoria’s-Secret-Angel fame, talk about how technology has democratized fashion week, I enjoyed the opportunity to tickle my intellectual curiosity and feed my insatiable appetite for debate and discourse. And, because it was Spring Break, and I revel in Austin’s music scene, I soaked in some of Stromae’s electrifying beats and experiential lyrics at the Spotify House, and enjoyed (guiltily) Miley Cyrus’ surprise performance at Fader Fort.
Companies like Samsung and National Geographic had stalls where you could experience their product and service offerings. Samsung’s Oculus Virtual Reality (VR) headset gave a very literal, 3-D preview of an SNL recording (with Sir Paul McCartney, Michael Douglas and Leonardo DiCaprio) and the new movie in the Divergent series, Insurgent. I was mesmerized by how virtual reality and its progression, augmented reality, are set to redefine entertainment experiences, particularly gaming.
Wowed by Samsung’s (Oculus) VR headset!
Unfortunately, I couldn’t beat the crowds for the National Geographic stall which gave visitors the opportunity to ‘battle for survival’ by spending 20 minutes with a group in a 40F room while they figured out how to get out. However, there were tons and tons of freebies to make up. Yahoo had a rooftop lounge with free drinks, and jenga, and the trade show had the likes of NASA with free Orion (NASA’s new exploration Spacecraft) pins and tons of fascinating information about space! Samsung, if you braved the queue, was giving away customized (by you!) T-shirts.
By the end of the first day, I was tired, and my limbs were groaning like an old rocking chair, but SXSW kept me going back for more every day for a week! It truly is an event that needs to be experienced and not vicariously enjoyed!
Max’s Eclectic SXSW Experience – 3D Printing, Gaming, and New TV Shows
“I could always become an Uber driver.”
At least that’s what I was thinking as my Uber driver dropped me off a few blocks from the Austin Convention Center. He had just finished bragging to me that he was supposed to make thousands of dollars over the course of SXSW. So began my SXSW week, as thousands of people converged to Austin for the the interactive, entertainment, and music festivals. I interacted with employers, ate good food, and met some strange people. There was a lot going on all over the city, and I thought I would share some of my favorite experiences.
3D-Printing/Scanning and the Smithsonian
I was wandering around after visiting the Game Expo (discussed later) when I stumbled upon a 3D-Printing Session. 3D-Printing is all the rage nowadays, and the possibilities seem limitless at this point so I decided to drop in. The Smithsonian has hundreds of thousands of artifacts at its disposal. Now imagine being able to hold any one them in your hand (albeit a slightly smaller version) – that is what the Smithsonian is striving towards for disadvantaged students in public schools. They are 3D scanning artifacts like the Wright-Flyer and Abe Lincoln’s face mask (an actual molding of the President’s face!!!!). These students who would otherwise be unable to see the actual items in person can now experience them. Most schools can’t afford a 3D printer, but the data from each scan is being stored online, and some of it has been made available to digital 3D model viewer. You can now get up close and personal with ancient relics without having to disobey the “do not touch” signs. It’s pretty cool stuff, and researchers are now able to see things they have not seen before with these 3D scans.
Mr. Robot
I explored SXSW with another MSBAer, Megan Chan. One day, we stumbled across a group of dudes wearing black hoodies and sunglasses in the convention center just standing around. Turns out they were promoting a TV series premiere called Mr. Robot. I hadn’t seen any new tv/movies yet so we decided to go. I somehow got in and we snagged some hoodies of our own. The show was great. Reminded me of Dexter but with a computer hacker instead of a serial killer. Definitely reinforces the sense of being a badass because you can code….
Crowds at the Gaming Expo
Game Expo
The final thing I want to talk about is the Game Expo and the gaming session I attended. First of all, the game expo is on the south-side of town. It definitely felt like the conference organizers were quarantining the gaming nerds, like myself, out in the boonies. Not cool. Anyways, the Expo was great and I got some hands-on time playing Star Citizen with Oculus Rift. The game is a sci-fi space flight simulator, and I definitely felt like Han Solo zooming around shooting down bad guys. The session I went to focused on the current state of the gaming industry. Specifically, the discussion revolved around the fact that virtually all games being made are either big budget action games or indie games. This bi-modal distribution of game development has led to some stagnant creativity and profits in the industry. If only I had 15-20 million dollars lying around…
SXSW: an Experience Not-to-be-Missed
All in all, the MSBA students had a great time exploring all that SXSW has to offer. Big Data and analytics saturated the interactive portion of the event. It is a great place to meet like minded people and have a great time!
Any questions about SXSW, the MSBA Program, or the Outreach Committee, just ask: MSBusinessAnalytics@mccombs.utexas.edu